Nicknamed "the barristers' party", it was founded in 2006 by professional elites -- mostly from the legal sector -- who wanted to promote democratisation and civil society in Hong Kong.
The party was among the last few standing opposition groups, as political dissent has been outlawed under 2020's national security law, and civil society in Hong Kong has been forced underground or driven into exile.
On Saturday, 30 of 31 members at the party's extraordinary general assembly voted to voluntarily wind up operations -- a process that would take about a month to complete.
"After all the final procedures, the Civic Party will disappear from Earth," said chairman Alan Leong.
The 65-year-old party co-founder is a well-known pro-democracy figure to Hong Kongers who came of age after the city's 1997 handover from Britain.
In 2007, Leong was -- and remains -- the only candidate that was not pre-screened by China to join the city's chief executive election. This position is handpicked by Beijing, and he predictably lost.
But the party has since its inception aspired to become a "governing" force, instead of pushing back "just for the sake of opposition".
At its peak of popularity, the Civic Party was the second-largest group in the city's opposition camp -- pocketing six seats in Hong Kong's half-elected legislature in 2012.
"We had our eyes fixed on the benchmark of democracy," said Leong in the party's farewell letter to the city on Saturday.
"History goes in circles... While the Civic Party has not accomplished what we set out to do, there is a time for everything."
Since 2019 when the financial hub was upended by huge, at times violent pro-democracy protests, a half dozen of the Civic Party's key members have faced criminal convictions for taking part in demonstrations and attempting to raise funds for protesters.
They also took part in unofficial political primaries within the pro-democracy camp -- which was deemed a national security risk -- and four were charged with "conspiracy to subversion".
By the end of 2021, the Civic Party lost all five seats in Hong Kong's legislature and more than 30 spots in the democratically elected district councils, as authorities enforced Beijing's "patriots only" doctrine for public offices.
Former founding member Albert Lai told AFP the disbanding of the party "can be deemed a symbol of the end of Hong Kong's nativistic democracy movement".
"But the failure does not mean the movement was meaningless," Lai said.
"Many people were mobilised and much social capital was amassed during the process, which would be meaningful for the next chapter of Hong Kong."
Chinese comedy group punishment sends chills through arts sphere
Beijing (AFP) May 28, 2023 -
China's recent punishment of a comedy studio has sent a chill through the country's cultural sphere -- a striking reminder of the increasingly limited public space for artistic expression under President Xi Jinping.
Authorities last week fined Xiaoguo Culture Media millions of dollars and suspended their performances indefinitely after a comic made an oblique joke about the People's Liberation Army (PLA).
Stand-up comedian Li Haoshi referenced a well-known PLA slogan when joking about watching his dogs chase a squirrel -- which officials subsequently announced had "caused a bad social impact" and broken the law.
The Chinese arts scene has always been heavily censored by the ruling Communist Party, and under Xi's decade-long rule, authorities have tightened that oversight.
But the swift retribution meted out to Xiaoguo represents "a sad, 'new low' in Chinese official tolerance for unorthodox speech", the University of Oxford's Vivienne Shue told AFP.
In the past, "it would have been more common to let such public transgressors off with just a stern private warning", she said.
Instead, officials fined the company 14.7 million yuan ($2.13 million) and opened an investigation into Li.
- 'Scare the monkeys' -
The penalty "was clearly issued in line with the old Chinese practice of 'killing a chicken to scare the monkeys'", said Steve Tsang, director of the SOAS China Institute.
"Most cultural workers and comedians are likely to act on the deterrence effect," he added.
The days after the announcement saw a spate of last-minute cancellations of musical and comedy performances nationwide.
In some cases "force majeure" was blamed, but others gave no reason and did not say whether the performances would take place in the future.
Japanese musician Kanho Yakushiji, whose Buddhist choral group's shows in Hangzhou, Shanghai and Beijing were nixed, said on Instagram he didn't understand the cancellations.
A staff member at a venue in the southern city of Shantou said a rock show had been postponed while "a new application was made for (official) approval" but that they did not know the exact reason why.
Multiple performers contacted by AFP would not comment on the current climate, fearing it would worsen the backlash.
Stand-up may be particularly risky as it is a relatively new form of comedy in China and "it is difficult to know the appropriate boundaries", SOAS' Xiaoning Lu told AFP.
It is also seen by some nationalists as a Western import undermining Chinese "cultural confidence", she said.
- 'Appropriate laughter' -
The Communist Party has historically kept a tight rein on the arts -- coopting them for political propaganda and quashing anything verging on dissent.
Leader Mao Zedong once said there was "no such thing as... art that is detached from or independent of politics".
"Censorship and self-censorship have always been present, although the intensity may vary from time to time," said Hong Kong Baptist University's Sheng Zou.
In recent years the government has published new "moral guidelines" demanding that performers embody positivity and patriotism.
It has also taken aim at "abnormal aesthetics" in media, including "sissy men" -- a pejorative term for men with an effeminate look.
Xi last week wrote to staff at the National Art Museum of China, urging them to "adhere to the correct political orientation", according to state media.
Announcing the comedy studio's fine, authorities said they hoped "all literary and artistic workers (would) comply with laws and regulations, correct their creative thinking, (and) strengthen moral cultivation".
"The boundaries of appropriate laughter have always been elastic in China, contingent upon political climate," said SOAS' Lu.
With the Xiaoguo incident, a new red line has been set, said Oxford's Shue.
"The military establishment is to be regarded as 'sacred' -- there is to be no public laughter whatsoever, even tangentially, at the expense of the PLA," she explained.
- Public nationalism -
The new boundaries are an extension of the muscular, hardline nationalism Xi has personally promoted since coming to power.
He has frequently used the slogan referenced in Li's joke, and extolled the strength of the armed forces in domestic information campaigns.
That fierce nationalism has trickled down -- Li was investigated after a complaint from a member of the public, authorities said.
His transgression was the topic of heated discussion, with hundreds of millions of hits on social media platform Weibo.
The widespread attention had created "mounting pressure... demanding serious treatment", said Zou.
Many online comments supported Li's punishment, although Weibo is heavily censored.
"In China, anything that involves insults to national dignity and pride is no trivial matter," Baptist University's Zou said.
"It is where the state's interest and public opinion most likely converge."
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